Manassas Junction [Virginia]
November 8, 1862

Dear Father,

I received your letter on the 1st. I was pleased to hear from you and home and to find you all well. We left our comfortable camp in the fort [Fort Buffalo on Upton’s Hill] the first [of November] for a march to Richmond. We are now encamped for awhile near Manassas Junction and momentarily expecting orders to move but I hope we will not get any for it is snowing and has been all day. It is very cold here. I guess it is colder here now than it is at home. The wind blows clean through everything we can put on. We are now under General [James B.] Ricketts. He is now Division General. Our Captain is now Chief of Artillery—that is, of three batteries. Our Battery is getting pretty high. It seems there can be no fight without our Battery is in it. I am now back and came along with the rest. I got along first rate. I am not on duty yet in my detachment but I do a little around. I shall not go on full duty until I am fairly able. ¹

You must have my boots done by this time. I have a chance to get them brought down by our sutler. He will call for them at Newark. If they are not done yet, please get them done as soon as you can for I am very much in need of them. I have nothing but a pair of canvass shoes and the water goes through very quick. Mr. Jacob Brown will be at No. 135 Broad Street at the latter part of next week and I would like very much to have them sent by him. He will be in Newark about the 13th or 15th of this month. Tell Mary she can call if she likes and Mr. Brown will bring anything she wishes to send. You may if you see her tell her for probably I shall not have time to write very soon. She will pay for them when they are done. Tell Mary she may send those gloves. They would come very acceptable.

Father, I am sorry to disappoint you. I am very much disappointed myself for I thought I really had quite some money in safe keeping. But come to find out I have not got one cent. But I suppose it is alright for Mary says she has not received one cent from anyone but me since she was married snd you know she has been under quite an expense since she lost her mother. She has had to buy all the clothing and furnished her own room, paid her board and so she has used up all. I think she has done very well but now all I send she will have and send to you. I don’t want you to say anything and I will tell you something. She says she and Fannie are going to support themselves this winter by doing something—she will not tell me yet. She wants to keep it a secret for awhile yet. I think I know what it is. I guess they intend teaching school. You know Mary has a splendid education and she is just smart enough to do anything. I hope she will be successful.

Father, do you think I could have made a better choice that I did? If you do, I don’t. She is small but she is all there. I have not seen anything out of the way with her since I left her. She has done everything to suit me. She has never done anything without consulting me first—only she spent all my money. But I suppose she thought it all belonged to her and so it did, I can’t blame her in the least. I will send you some money as soon as we get paid off. We will get paid for four months when we do get it. Please see to my boots as early as possible and oblige your son, — C. V. H.

Remember me to all yours, — Cornelius

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¹ From Michael Hanifen’s book (p. 32): “November 1, 1862, left Upton’s Hill and marched through Fairfax Court House, camping near Centreville; from there to Manassas Junction, and remained there one day. From there, under command of Col. Blaisdell of the Sixteenth Massachusetts, that regiment, the Eleventh Massachusetts and Seventy-Second New York Infantry and Battery B, marched by way of Bristoe and Catlett’s Stations to Warrenton Junction. The railroad was covered in one confused jumble with debris of trains destroyed by Jeb Stuart and Stonewall Jackson during Pope’s campaign. The purpose of our advances was to repair the railroad and accumulate supplies for McClellan’s army as it advanced from Maryland into Virginia. We also had a squadron of Sixth Ohio Cavalry for scouting the country between us and the Rappahannock river.”